The Heroic Task of Realizing Abundance

One of my recent goals has been to go see Man of Steel while it was still on the big screen at the discount theatre. On the journey to get there, I was given a joyful surprise. When I got out of the car and started toward the building, I didn’t take two steps before I noticed a sheet of paper on the ground that said “Take What You Need!” with removable tabs cut into the paper so that passersby could tear off a piece for later reference. I imagine the poster was once hanging on a wall or tree, but as I picked it up and looked at it, I knew that it was meant for me.

The removable tabs were each filled out with a different need – love, faith, money, friends, family, health, kindness, freedom, motivation, and one tab was missing.

I considered what might have been written on that missing tab, and if it was something that I needed. But the more time I spent with the poster, the more I realized that it was exactly what I needed. For when I’m aligned and open to realize abundance for what it really is, I truly do need nothing.

Through the relationships I’ve cultivated, the nuggets of information I carry around in my cerebrum, the work that I do, and the services I provide, life manifests abundantly in a myriad of ways. However, I still find that I manufacture needs that do not serve my highest good, and I often do myself, my loved ones, my craft, and my greater purpose a great disservice by feeding compulsions that keep me from living my fullest life or being the best version of myself. From what I’ve come to understand of the human race, my dilemma of ego aggrandizement is no rarity, yet I know that I am capable of so much more than the simple pleasures I have so often settled for and the ethical compromises I have made in the process of chasing them.

I wonder about some of the challenges Superman faced as he came to grips with who he was and the impact that he could have in the world. It was somehow empowering to see young Clark Kent struggle with the fearful way the world was presented to him as he accustomed himself to living in the midst of it. Not that I’ve ever seen people skulls or heard their thoughts beyond the ones I imagined they were having, but I do tend to see things a bit off kilter, and I believe that I bring something to the world that can help avert the destruction of humanity and offer us another chance at civilization.

I realize how egomaniacal it must seem for me to compare myself to Superman, but we do have the same initials, and as a child of America, he was the folk hero I most wanted to emulate. Besides, most people keep comparing me to Jesus so I figure Superman is probably down a notch or two on that list of “who do you think you are?” (As fair warning, I’ll get writing about Jesus later on so we can talk more about the ridiculousness of my ego then.)

In Man of Steel, Superman goes on a hero’s journey as I’ve never seen portrayed before. Although I’ve seen and read his story many times, I’ve never seen his journey to find himself. Going from job to job, always pretending to be less than he really was, Superman shackled himself to a life less worthy until he was ready to become more and the world was ready for him. I think that on my journey to find myself, I have often lived a life less worthy because I was not yet ready to live more.

I do not know if I will ever be as noble as Superman, but I wonder if he would be as brave if he weren’t invincible. Yet I recognize that when I do shed my altered ego and operate as the Spirit I truly am, I’m invincible too.

I think most of us humans that aspire to be heroes never make it simply because we don’t realize our true power or where it really comes from. The rest of us know where it comes from, but refuse to wield it. But some of us hear the call, and though we may not be grandiose, and we may not appear to be perfect, we answer it as best as we can.

My heroic mission is to write the world and be impeccable with my words in the hopes of helping us move beyond our self-imposed limitations and into the abundance that is our birthright. It’s a lofty freaking goal with a potential backlash of responsibility that I’ve not quite been ready for. But I think it’s also my goal to discover what need was written on that missing strip of paper and lay down the trail of words to guide us toward its fulfillment.